Slider for slide fasteners



Feb. 13, 1968 TAKEO FUKUROI SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 21, 1 966 Fig.4

FIG?

O/ l l 2 Mm I VENTOR B TAKEO FuKuRm MfoRNeis Feb. 13, 1968 7 Filed Nov. 21, 1966 TAKEO FUKUROI 'SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO THKEO FUKUROI DTTOQNEYS' United States Patent SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Taken Fukuroi, Uozu-shi, Japan, assignor to Yoshida Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, .Iapan Filed Nov. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 595,984 Claims priority, application Japan, Mar. 25, 1966, il/27,302 3 Claims. (Cl. 24-20514) This invention relates to slide fasteners and has particular reference to the provision of an improved slider therefor which is of the locking type comprising means for automatically locking it in position on the slide fastener to prevent accidental movement of the slider.

Conventional fastener sliders have been provided with locking prongs or pins formed integrally with, or attached to, a swingable pull tab, said prongs or pins being adapted to engage between adjacent interlocking fastener elements of the fastener to lock the slider by preventing endwise movement thereof with respect to the rows of slide fastener elements. Sliders of such construction have the disadvantage that the locking prong is apt to strike upon one of the fastener elements attached to marginal edges of the stringer tapes when the pull tab is merely dropped after closing the fastener, instead of engaging in between adjacent interlocking elements of the fastener, and thus the fastener is likely to open by a quick lateral pull exerted on the end of the stringer tapes without being retained in locked position. Furthermore, repeated engagement and disengagement of the slider locking prong or pin in between and over the interlocking fastener elements would cause undue wear and destructive effect upon the interlocking fastener elements.

Whereas, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved locking slider which will eliminate the abovenoted difficulties of the conventional sliders.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved locking slider comprising resilient means for placing it in locking position in the fastener with an absolute minimum of frictional wear developed at the engagement parts of the slider or at the fastener elements.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved locking slider having a separately formed locking member which is disposed irresistibly in a recess formed in the body of the slider.

These objects and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of a slider embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the slider taken substantially on the line I-I of FIG. 1, showing the pull tab as lying fiat in locked position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the pull tab as standing substantially upright or in unlocked position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but with the pull tab portion removed in the interest of clarity of illustration;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the reverse side of the pull tab showing a cam as integrally formed therewith, and

FIG. 6 illustrates the various forms of the locking member according to the invention.

Reference first to FIGS. 1 to 3 shows the slider generally designed at 1 as comprising a first or upper wing member 2 and a second or lower wing member 3 each having a pair of similar side flanges 4 and 5. These wing members are joined at their one ends by a wedge or neck member 6 but are spaced from each other to form a 3,368,249 Patented Feb. 13, 1968 "ice fastener guide channel 7 between the marginal side flanges 4 and 5 of the two wing members 2 and 3. While the upper and lower wing members 2 and 3 are of substantially the same general form, the upper wing member 2 is provided at the outer surface with a pair of laterally spaced outwardly extending yoke members 8 each having provided therein a transverse pin receiving bore 9.

The upper wing member 2 is further provided centrally with a longitudinal recess 10 having an arcuate inner wall and extending substantially to the full distance between the opposing yoke members 8, which recess being adapted to support therein a leaf spring member 11 having one end secured by rivetting or welding to the rear end portion of the recess 10 and the other end movably seated on a ledge 12 formed in the neck portion 6, as this will be better understood from the illustration of FIG. 2.

Provided centrally in the inner wall of the recess 10 is an aperture 13 communicating with the fastener element guide channel 7 of the fastener for receiving a suitable one of the locking members exemplified in FIG. 6. For purposes of illustration, however, the locking member 14 of FIG. 6a is considered which has an upper surface 15 slightly curved to abut flat against the leaf spring 11 when the latter is compressed as shown in FIG. 2 and which has a lower surface portion bisected by a projection or lug 16. Each lower surface portion 17 is likewise curved to conform with the arcuate inner wall contour of the recess 10.

The locking projection 14 is mounted freely in the recess 10 in interposed relation between the leaf spring member 11 and the arcuate inner wall of the recess, with the projection 16 disposed for free passage through the aperture 13 to come in and out of contact with the fastener element-to-element spacing of the fastener.

Reference is now had to FIG. 5 illustrating the pull tab 18 according to the invention which is of a fiat platelike form and has a ca m member 19 formed integrally therewith at one end and a supporting pin 20 likewise integral therewith across the cam member. The pin 20 extends pivotally through the aligned transverse pinreceive bores 9 in the lugs or yoke members 8 so as to provide a support for the pull tab 18.

With this construction, when the pull tab 18 is manipulated to operate the slider 1, i.e. to lock the slider in position on the fastener as shown in FIG. 2, the leaf spring mem ber I1 is compressed arcula tely in contact cenltra-lly with the earn member 19, urging the looking member 14 into the channel 7 of the slider and thus into engagement with the fastener elements 2J1 attached to the tapes 22 of the fastener, thereby retaining the slider in locked position. When the pull tab 18 is raised as shown in FIG. 3, the projection 16 of the locking member 14 is tossed up or retracted into the recess 10 by the fastener elements 21, leaving a marginal clearance in the opening 13 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. This clearance provides for slight longitudinal movement of the locking member 14 therein whereby the projection 16 is allowed to slip flexibly into a space between adjacent fastener elements without dest-niotive-ly rid-ing over the fastener elements. For this purpose, the locking projection 16 is preferably substantially round, oblong or otherwise least fric'tion ally shaped. In cooperation with this slight longitudinal movement of the locking member 14, the vertical movemenlt thereof caused by the leaf spring member 11 When compressed by the pull talb 1-8 will provide a positive lock of the slider with least resistance to the interlocking fastener elements.

Now, to open the fasltener, the pull tab 18 is erected from the horizontal locked position of FIG. 2 and held swbsitant-i-al'ly upright as seen in FIG. 3 or may be flipped down against the projecting top end of the neck portion 6.

In this instance, the leaf spring member 11 is relieved of the compression exerted by the cam 19 and returns to its normal flat position, allowing the locking member 14 to be released from the fastener elements 21 and thus permitting free movement of the slider along the rows of fastener elements in a well known manner. Since the locking member 14 is disposed irresistibly free within the space of the recess when held in unlocked position as seen in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, the slider moves with the locking projection 16 of the member 14 subjected to absolutely minimum friction with the fastener elements of the slider fastener.

When attempting to lock the slider with the conventional locking prong attached to the pull tab, the locking prong makes rotary movement in abrasive contact with the fastener elements. In contrast, the rotary movement of the pull tab 18 according to the invention is translated by the flexing leaf spring 11 into a substantially linear vertical movement of the separately disposed locking member 14, and the thrusting stress which would otherwise be localized at the locking prong; i.e. at the c am portion 19 in the case of the present invention, is uniformly distributed over the area of the leaf spring 11 as the latter is compressed just enough to urge the locking projection 16 to fit snug into a space between adjacent interlocking elements of the fastener.

An advantage of the separately arranged locking member 14 is that its material may be chosen at will to be compatible with the specific type of material of the faseuer element chain used. For instance, if the fastener element chain is made of a plastic mlaterial, the locking member 14 may be changed compatibly per se without affecting the basic slider construction. Another advantage of the slider construction according to the invention is that, while the conventional locking prong or pin is exposed when in unlocked position and thus is apt to destructively catch the clothing of the user, the corresponding locking member 14 of the invenion is normally concelaled within the recess 10 so as to eliminate the possibility of damage to the users iwear.

Another advantage of the invention is that the restoring tendency of the leaf spring 11 snaps the pull tab 18 into locked position with the aid of the cam action and retains it in firmly locked position against unintentional movement of the slider.

The locking member 14 is so dimensioned and formed thJat it can work with only moderate urging force of the spring 1 1, and hence the fatigue of the leaf spring resullting from reuea'ted compress-ion by the cam 19 of the pull tab 18 may be held to a minimum. In one ern'bodimerit of the invention, the locking member 14 is formed of a non-resilient material such as those designated at A, B and C in FIG. 6. However, to assure further reduction of the fatigue of the leaf spring member 11, there may be used a locking member of similar resilient m'aiterial to the leaf spring 11 such as of the forms illustrated at D, E, F and G in FIG. 6.

The slider body may be made of metal, mol'da'ble plastic material or any other suitable material to .serve the purposes of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, it will be understood that lth invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modification-s within the appended claims.

What I claim is:

:1. A slider for slide fasteners comprising a pair of opposingly spa'ced wing members forming therebetween a fastener element guide channel, a pull tab pivotally connected to one of said wing members and provided with a dam member, a recess formed in said one wing member and provided with an opening, a resilient means having one end secured to said one wing member and the other freely disposed, and a locking means irresistibly disposed in said recess and freely movable through said opening of the recess into and out of the guide channel, said resilient means being compressible substantially arcualtely in contact with the cam of the pull tab to urge said locking means slippin'gly into engagement with a space between adjacent fastener elements of the fastener when the pull tab is manipuiated to lock the slider in position on the fastener.

2. A slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking means is made of non-resilient material and provided centrally with a substantially arcuate projection with which to flexibly engage in a space between adjacent fastener elements of the fastener.

3. A slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said resilient means is a leaf spring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,289,585 7/1942 Marinsky 24205.l4 2,689,390 9/1954 Firing 24-20514 BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS COMPRISING A PAIR OF OPPOSINGLY SPACED WING MEMBERS FORMING THEREBETWEEN A FASTENER ELEMENT GUIDE CHANNEL, A PULL TAB PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID WING MEMBERS AND PROVIDED WITH A CAM MEMBER, A RECESS FORMED IN SAID ONE WING MEMBER AND PROVIDED WITH AN OPENING, A RESILIENT MEANS HAVING ONE END SECURED TO SAID ONE WING MEMBER AND THE OTHER FREELY DISPOSED, AND A LOCKING MEANS IRRESISTIBLY DISPOSED IN SAID RECESS AND FREELY MOVABLE THROUGH SAID OPENING OF THE RECESS INTO AND OUT OF THE GUIDE CHANNEL, SAID RESILIENT MEANS BEING COMPRESSIBLE SUBSTANTIALLY ARCUATELY IN CONTACT WITH THE CAM OF THE PULL TAB TO URGE SAID LOCKING MEANS SLIPPINGLY INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH A SPACE BETWEEN ADJACENT FASTENER ELEMENTS OF THE FASTENER WHEN THE PULL TAB IS MANIPULATED TO LOCK THE SLIDER IN POSITION ON THE FASTENER. 